You should’ve started your business in primary school. 9-year-old businesspeople conquer the world! Standard young age for entering the game – 21 (Jobs, Gates) or 23 (Zuckerberg) – becomes today a time for retirement planning and careless spending of billions of dollars earned before.
What is the key to kids’ success? Youthful enthusiasm? Lack of experience (so they don’t know that something is impossible or hard)? Follow the stories of 13 of them to find out.
1. Realize that people are lazy
And all they want is somebody to come and simplify time– and attention-consuming activities. Take reading, for instance. How many texts on the web would you like to read? How many topics would you like to explore? You can blame lack of time, or use Summly: an app based on an algorithm that summarizes content from the internet on the topics you find interesting. Its author, Nick Aloisio, was 15 when he created Summly, and sold it to Yahoo! recently.
2. Remove “guilt” from “guilty pleasure.”
Lollipops are tasty, fun and always improve one’s mood, but the awful impact of sugar on health ruins the bliss. Unless we change the ingredients! 9-years-old Alina Morse thought that way and founded Zollipops – lollipops that are actually beneficial to you as they clean the teeth. Moms, kids and all amateurs of sweets fell in love with the product.
3. No idea is “too weird.”
Evan is 9 and has 3 YouTube channels. His movies (on average 870 million views per film) cover toy unboxing and reviews. It’s a family business: Evan invites his sister sometimes while his dad is responsible for recording and editing.
So if you have a passion – go for it!
4. Learn by yourself
Jordan Casey: at the age of 8 he was Europe youngest CEO, but time counts against him and now, at 15, his proud title is forever lost. He built games empire, starting with simple applications, and designs advanced software now. Casey is passionate about self-learning and claims that thanks to i
nternet all the knowledge in the worlds is at your fingertips.
“I really don’t see what university could teach me that I can’t learn for free immediately. There are a lot of skills that you can learn yourself and just by using the Internet.”
5. Question the rules
If a product is strictly linked to one group (gender, class, ethnicity), create it for others. 14-years old Hart Main did so, watching his sister selling scent candles for school charity.
How could a young man purchase something so repulsive! But if a candle smelled like pizza? That way Man Can company was established. It also helps the poor: candles are sold in soup cans – and soup is donated a for soup kitchen. Like Blake Mycoskie, Main believes that charity thrives when allied to business, not left at the mercy of donations.
6. New times = new problems
Internet, social media, smartphones… Old people in their 30. don’t get it, while teenagers born with iPhone in their hands, who scrolled before they leafed, intuitively indicate the needs of a brave new, connected world.
So Stacey Ferreira (19) did: she spotted a problem with having many logins and passwords to various social platforms, so she invented My Social Cloud: all your logins and passwords collected, organized and safe. Simple – and useful.
7. Believe that ads don’t have to be intrusive
Do you know the moment when you beat your record in a game and intrusive banner appears to spoil your moment of triumph? Or when you check your achievements in Endomondo and suddenly a sausage ad pops out?
In such moments you deserve a treat for your success: next level, personal best beaten… Brands should build on your good emotions, not interrupt them.
That’s how Kiip was founded: Brian Wong established a network of advertisers who want to offer customers real value, not to bombard them with bulk banners. With Kiip brand can give customer a treat: coupon or free gift.
8. Help the world
No worry – if internet is not your cup of tea, there is still plenty of space for innovation outside. Just ask yourself: “How to make the world a better place?”
That’s what young Eden Full asked and came up with innovative solar panels that follow the sun, so their exposition to sunlight is maximized.
She implements her method in Kenya.
9. Find your niche
Ryan Kelly at 9 started to ask questions about his dog’s food. Would you feed your dog with something you wouldn’t eat yourself? That’s how the dog cakes bakery business named Ry’s Ruffery began.
Success came instantly, not only due to exploitation of a niche, but also engagement of 12-years old entrepreneur.
10. Use your knowledge on specific target
Juliette Bridak was 10 when she established a portal for 10-years old girls. And her success with Miss O and Friends is well-earned: she created a group of support, helping teenage girls cope with specific problems of adolescence, but not in a patronizing way. Girl power!
Now Juliette is 19 and owns a business worth 19 million dollars.
11. Friends and family are your first customers
You don’t just arrive at global market as a revelation to everyone: you start small. A company develops gradually and at the first stage, when you need customers, focus on friends, acquaintances, and family. You will contact them cheaply and get first orders and feedback. How do they feel about the product? Is the pricing right? Maybe something could be improved?
14-years old Bella Weems followed that path when introducing Origami Owl – a jewelry brand. She would throw regular parties where her products could be bought. She got feedback, knowledge and first customers. The name spread quickly.
12. Get an offline activity online.
Although when compared to other entrepreneurs discussed above, 22-years old Yin Sand looks like a decrepit graybeard, we still class him as a young businessman. His idea? To make karaoke connected. His 17chang, the third company he established, serves common singing by distance, it also works as a social platform.
13. Get carried away (especially when thinking up the name)
Madison Robinson is an icon of young business, present in all rankings and articles on the topic as an epitome of free creativity. At 9, Maddy drew a pair of flip flops with a fish on them, and called them “fish-flops” with typical kid’s poetic sensibility and passion for inventing new words. The name took her father’s heart, so he established a company. The rest is history. Maddie sold over 60,000 pairs and broadened her offer.
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So don’t despair when looking at 10-years old businessmen. Maybe they can inspire you?
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